middle mad. there should be an attempt at bipartisanship. >> no, first of all, i would argue there was an attempt of bipartisanship, chuck. i take issue with some of what mark says. i look back at the '99 and 2000 george bush. there was a lot to like there. i covered his education policies. i said they were good. he campaigned as a uniter, not a divider. he got into office, he ran through the most radical change we've seen ever. he never talked about it. he didn't want to be a nation builder and there we are in iraq. >> that's what conservatives are saying about president obama. i've heard the same anger there. well, he's just ramming through the stimulus package. >> he's not. i want to say first of all he worked hard on the stimulus package, gave it back to congress. maybe they made mistakes but they took amendments on the stimulus package from republicans. they didn't get the votes. in the health committee, senate health committee on the health bill, they took 169 republican amendments on that bill and

didn't get one republican vote. it's not that obama isn't trying. the republicans in a case of obama decided their only strategy was to say no. >> i'm going to have to make that the last word. joan walsh, mark mackinnon. chris matthews returns friday at 5:00 and 7:00 eastern for more "hardball" to interview rod blagojevich. right now it's time for "the ed show" with ed schultz. good evening, americans. i'm ed schultz. this is "the ed show" on msnbc. lots on the table on this friday night. let's get into it. the republicans have got a new word. they don't have any ideas so they're getting new language. has nothing to do with the football season but the word is prevent. they don't want to stop health care reform. they just want to stop prevent death panels. that's what they want to do. listen to minnesota governor tim pawlenty on msnbc today talking about what's not in the bill. >> there is nothing in the legislation that directly says

it's the indirect concerns that i'm trying to articulate. i think are at least worth raising. what if it becomes so expensive and the trajectory of it is even close to what's being predicted ten years out that they can no longer afford what they promised and somebody has to scale back the care and the federal government is now empowered to do that. >> if, if, if, if, if, if, if. what if? what if? what if? there's nothing in the bill to prevent death panels but you've got to watch out for us lefties. we might have something up our sleeve. there's also nothing in the bill that, let's see, outlaws unicorns or something like that. the entire republican party, folks, do you understand what they've done the last several months? they spent the entire summer, the last quarter scaring the hell out of americans about things that don't even exist. death panels, i guess you can say, are the new wmds. it's cynical. it's transparent. it's ridiculous and a weak

playbook. the american people aren't going to buy it. despite all this rhetoric, the white house is still hoping for a bipartisan deal. president obama opened the door to the republicans again on wednesday night. this time he issued a warning. >> i will continue to seek common ground in the weeks ahead. if you come to me with a serious set of proposals, i will be there to listen. my door is always open. but know this, i will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it's better politics to kill this plan then to improve it. if you misrepresent what's in this plan, we will call you out. >> well, the republicans have tipped their hand again. they are still spreading fear about death panels. illegal immigrants. we'll talk about that tonight a lot. also taxpayer-funded abortion. we'll touch on that later in the program.

they're all flat-out lies. the president knocked down every one of them in his speech the other night. you can't negotiate unless you know what the other side wants and the republicans don't want anything except failure. when it comes to pre-existing conditions, folks, when it comes to canceling coverage when consumers get sick after being healthy for so long, the republicans, i guarantee you, they do not have the guts to do those changes. i don't think they have the courage to stand up to their base. the right-wing fringe, all these town halers, all these screeners want failure and they are demanding it. it's a hatred for obama. the love that they have is that a southern white congressman called president obama a liar during a nationally televised speech to congress. may i point out after the apology, what a great fund-raiser that's been. i think it's time for the president to shut the door. really. shut the door. there's nothing this president can do that is ever going to win

over the republican base. folks, this is what i think you need to focus on. read the republican proposals on health care. nowhere in any of them will you see anything about a mandate for change. when it comes to pre-existing condition, when it comes to protecting consumers, it's not there. it is all driven in protecti protectionary stuff for the insurance industry. get out your cell phones. do you think most republicans are feeling embarrassed or emboldened by joe wilson's outburst? check a for embarrassed, b for emboldened to 622639. joining me now, congresswoman barbara lee of california, the chair of the congressional black caucus. congresswoman, great to have you with us tonight. appreciate your sometime here on a friday. i see that the congressional black caucus and also the

progressive caucus is demanding a meeting with the president of the united states after he gave his speech. i mean, you met with him the other night. what do you have to meet with him again? are you not happy? did he not go far enough? what's the meeting all about? >> thank you for giving me the chance to be with you tonight. we have talked to the president on many occasions. we have communicated via letter and we are very proud of the fact he restated his position for a public option as part of any health care reform package and let me just say, we also are working with all of our colleagues in congress to be sure that we have a unified democratic caucus as we move forward. i am here in austin, texas, at the fall meeting of the democratic national committee, the dnc. i'm proud of the fact the dnc passed a resolution that i sponsored calling for

comprehensive health care reform including a public option. >> okay, so -- so congresswoman, you're telling us the president did go far enough, which tells me what's this meeting going to be about? probably nothing. >> well, i am plan -- we are unwavering in our support for a public option. we are proud of the fact the president restated his commitment, but he cares about a public option. now what we're doing is trying to do the work. work out the details of what this means. we're meeting with our leadership, with the president, with everyone to try to make sure we bring some unity into our caucus to make sure we have the best possible bill. i think this president's speech was very clear. it was very honest. it was very frank. he told it like it is. he helped dispel the myths. >> did he -- did the outburst the other night by congressman wilson and also the people around him that were holding up a bunch of material and all the stuff that's been going on, the fund-raising after the apology,

it looks like they jump at every opportunity they can get. does that indicate to you it's going to be tougher to bring any republicans on board and this is the way they are? >> let me tell you, ed. we saw the lack of civility during august at many of the town meetings. i think it's important to try to bring everyone, republican, democrats, independents to support comprehensive health care. remember in republican districts people are suffering. they've lost their jobs. they, too, have little health care. no health care. their insurance costs are too high. so i think this is an american issue. it's a moral issue. i am so proud of the fact the president recalled our beloved senator kennedy and the fact he called health care a moral imperative. that is exactly what it is. >> all right. congresswoman, i have to point out that the last 48 hours it doesn't appear like there has been any liberal backlash by

anybody toward the president and the administration on where they stand on any of this. it looks like the president has totally satisfied the liberal democrats and progressive caucus and you're ready to move forward and this is the way it's going to be. no single payer and maybe a public option. you'll push for it but maybe. that's where we are right now. there's no outcry here against what the president said the other night. >> let me say i fully support a single payer. there's no backlash because i believe that we ought to recognize the fact that we have an opportunity to craft a comprehensive health insurance bill that will include a public option. that is what we're working on. i'm proud of the fact the president has listened to progressives, members of our tri caucus, a congressional black, hispanic, asian-pacific, blue dogs to our caucuses and republicans to try to bring together the country to move forward on a good health care plan that brings down the cost of insurance and ensures

competitiveness within the insurance company so people's payments and insurance premiums come down so we'll have universal coverage. >> i hope so. congresswoman barbara lee. thanks for your time tonight. in this speech to congress wednesday the president said my doors are open if you have an idea. put that on the table. we're thinking about that. he wants to hear from everyone on how to fix the health care with lawmakers, the issue, doctors, policymakers. everybody. well, tonight the door is open here as well. joining me now, dr. bart witherspoon, oncologist from south carolina who's got an idea. dr. witherspoon, i appreciate you getting involved in the process here. your plan catastrophically, explain that. what could we do for every american in this country and also reduce cost? >> well, ed, first of all, i thank you for the conversation we had on the radio today. i thought we had a very nice

visit. my plan would call for the federal government to furnish a cat strosk health care plan, something would cut in at $200,000 and would cost about $60 a month for a family. there are about 90 million family households in america, total cost of that would be about $5.5 billion to the government. the shortfall from 2,000, 1,000, you pick a number, to $200,000 would then be furnished by business, the individual, and in the case of retirees, people who were disabled or couldn't afford it, the federal government would pay that. now, that would cost about $3,000 a year. >> okay. so what we're looking at is -- >> if you figure that out -- >> you're trying to come up with a plan that's going to keep people from financial ruin and the federal government would be involved in that. but below $200,000, what you would go for is the private sector would have to offer a bunch of different plans people

would have to participate in to be personally responsible to take care of that. is that right? >> yes, ed. well, here's the thing. you've got to put it out for competition. go across state lines. put it out. blue cross & blue shield, united health care, aetna, let everybody have a chance. i called and got $3,000 premium saying i was a company representing 5,000 people. what kind of deal do you think i could get if i said i represent 50 million people? it's just the right thing to do. one thing us old southern boys know is the difference between right and wrong. i think we need to have some discussion about the right way to do it. >> where do you southern boys in south carolina stand on a pre-existing condition? where do you stand on canceling people's insurance because they get sick? would you put a mandate involved? do you think the president should go along with that? he has. do you think republicans would go along with something like that? >> obviously i don't speak for the republican party, but i will tell you this. i think -- i think -- i also

don't represent a caucus. i'm just an old country doctor from south carolina trying to do the best i can to get sick folks well. anyway, i'll talk fast because i know we have time. here's the thing. i think it ought to be -- everybody should be covered. pre-existing conditions. everybody who walks in my office, regardless of ability to pay is somebody's mother, somebody's wife, somebody's sister. i personally think they deserve the same kind of care that my wife got when she had breast cancer. >> i appreciate your time tonight on "the ed show." thanks so much. there's a doctor in the process thinking. i think we need to hear more from doctors across america and we're going to have more on the program. joining me now, jacob hacker, a professor, political science at yale university and a resident fellow at the institution for social and policy studies. jacob, is there room for a catastrophic policy put in by the government that would keep people from complete financial ruin? does that have merit?

what do you think? >> i think it has a lot of merit. you know, that's actually a key part of the proposals on the table right now in the sense all of them would cap the out of pocket costs of individuals so nobody would be allowed to go into bankruptcy. the real issue is, how are we going to get the cost down so that people can keep affording coverage over time? if we -- if the federal government picked up the tab above a certain amount that wouldn't bring cost restraints. i think it's great to have this discussion. i think important principle is that nobody should be bankrupt from medical costs. we know something like 60% to 70% of bankruptcies in the united states are due to medical care. >> you have been, i understand, very critical of the blue dogs. why? >> well, i think the blue dogs have not been consistent with their principles. i believe they're right, we need to do this that way that's fiscally responsible and need to make sure it's good for the districts the blue dogs represent. in fact, they have been opposed

to the public health insurance option available to people who don't have country. it's going to help people in the rural country. it's the key o keep the costs of the overall bill down. i wasn't calling them out. i was telling them if they believed in fiscal responsibility and helping their constituents this was a good idea. >> professor hacker, in all of your studies of this issue, isn't the key issue the pre-existing condition that people are excluded from getting any coverage in this country? we get the idea, there's 40-some odd million people without coverage. the idea some people have is they're poor and can't afford it. there are many people excluded because they have a bad knee. so they can't get coverage. i had a lady on the radio show call me today, tell me that. she had a knee operation years ago. she can't get coverage. what happens if she gets cancer, develops diabetes? this is the issue. is it not? the pre-existing condition. >> i think there are two key issues. you're right not being able to get coverage because you have a

pre-existing condition or they think you're going to cost a lot, insurer thinks you're going to cost a lot, is a really big problem. that's why most people get their coverage through their employer where they don't have to worry about that. if they change their job they don't have their coverage. the other big issue is the cost. even if we got everyone coverage we need to find a way to slow the rate of increase and cost. the public health insurance plan would give poemeople a backup option and bring restraint to health care. >> appreciate your time on "the ed show." coming up, democrats are divided over afghanistan, correct? let me tell you about afghanistan. the war is raging. we're going to be talking about that. that's coming up on "the ed show." something new is happening at ethan allen! with "special savings" on select custom dining... and hand-made upholstery. you choose the style... we custom make it.

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welcome back to "the ed show." obvious aly a very emotional day across america remembering what happened to this country eight years ago today. the war continues on. there will be 68,000 u.s. troops in afghanistan by the end of this year. the top commander in afghanistan is expected to ask president obama to send more troops. but some democrats aren't sold on that idea.

house speaker nancy pelosi has said there's not a lot of support in congress for an increase in troop level. the chairman of the senate armed services committee today carl levin thinks more u.s. troops could hinder progress. >> the larger our own military footprint there, the more our enemies can seek to drive a wedge between us and the afghan population, spreading the falsehood we seek to dominate in muslim nation. >> joining me now is democratic congressman adam smith of washington. the congressman recently returned from a trip to afghanistan. congressman, good to have you on tonight. i appreciate it very much. what were your impressions of what you saw? the american people want to know, are we making progress? are we doing the right thing? what do you think? >> i think we have the right plan now and we're going to start making progress. i think it is very, very tragic we lost six years after the taliban were driven from power back in 2001. we don't have the right plan in

place. we didn't commit the resources to getting the governance level up in afghanistan, the dwomt level up. when president obama came into office he had a big problem to fix. put together a good plan, put the right people in place, general mcchrystal in particular is a man i have great deal of confidence in. he's got to be able to put that plan in place and implement it. it's going to take time and be tough. >> whatever general mcchrystal says you're going to go along with it. you wrote, my general position is we have to give general mcchrystal what he needs to get the job done. that's what the bush administration was saying, support the generals on the ground. doesn't seem like much difference between what you're saying. >> a lot of times, right off the bat, they said in order to successfully invade iraq they were going to need more troops and they ignored them. i think president bush did the opposite. the point is, general mcchrystal was picked to do this job.

if we don't agree with the direction he's saying we should go in, i guess we have to admit we picked the wrong person for the job. >> congressman smith, there's a lot of americans who think we are headed down the same road the soviet union went down in afghanistan. nobody's ever won over there. what is victory? wiping out terrorists? can we wipe them all out? are we doing nation building over there? are we in for an expense we've never seen before? >> there's two things about that. we have to remember where we are. on september 11th, i think it is appropriate to really focus on what happened in afghanistan. what is now happening also right across the border in the fatah? the fact that the taliban are inextricably linked to al qaeda. al qaeda is still plotting, planning, come up with ways to attack us here and throughout the western world. we cannot afford to allow them to do that. >> you, as a democrat, you stand

to give the president what he wants at this particular point. you go along with more troops if he calls for it. yet, in the most recent polling that has been out there, 57% of the american people opposed the situation right now in afghanistan. 42% favor. also, it just looks like the support for this is starting to peel off. >> no question. no question public support is starting to peel off. people are concerned. certainly we did not do as good a job as we should have in the last six years. senator levin makes goods points. we have to empower the afghans to protect themselves from the taliban. train the army, train the police corps and improve the governance on the village level to keep the taliban from being successful. that's going to be very, very hard. >> do you think, culturally -- congressman, do you think culturally we can achieve that in some measurable time?

without getting bogged down for another seven or eight years? is this going to be a lifelong deal for the united states? >> i think we are going to have to be some quha involwhat invol afghanistan and pakistan in terms of offering financial support for development. hopefully fairly quickly we can get the afghan security forces trained and to the level where they can protect themselves. senator levin is right -- if we look like an occupying power we're in trouble. we can't simply leave our allies in afghanistan at the mercy of the taliban. >> what is the exit strategy in your opinion? >> the exit strategy is to get the local afghans to the point where they can provide security and provide the basic necessities of life so the taliban aren't able to weasel their way back in. >> congressman, that is the exact same strategy the bush administration had in iraq and we're still there. >> i'm not arguing about iraq. i'm arking about afghanistan. >> the fact is, what you're saying is the exact same thing

the republicans in the bush adds station said about iraq. we really have an open-ended policy in afghanistan. we really don't know. >> of course we don't know for sure what's going to happen. i would ask you, is it okay if the taliban take over afghanistan and link back up with al qaeda so they can be safe and secure in that part of the world to plot attacks against the west? is that okay? >> you're totally convinced that's what would happen if we were to leave? >> if we were to leave right now, i thnk there's a strong possibility of that happening. again, we cannot put an endless array of troops in there because it defeats the base ek effort. we can't look at this part of the world and say, it's tough, we have to walk away. we have to be smart about our policy. the president came up with this strategy working with the best and the brightest minds on this issue. i think we should give our president a little bit of a chance. it's only been four months since he did his strategy.

a little bit of a chance to implement that strategy. >> congressman, good to have you on the program. appreciate your time. next up, the drugster attacks the 9/11 memorial. that's as un-american as you can get. it's in "psycho talk." ♪ bicycle, what are we waiting for? the flowers are blooming. the air is sweet. and zyrtec® starts... relieving my allergies... 2 hours faster than claritin®. my worst symptoms feel better, indoors and outdoors. with zyrtec®, the fastest...

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protect your home with flood insurance. call the number on your screen... for your free brochure. it's the friday edition of "psycho talk." we're going to finish off the week with one more from the drugster. apparently the anniversary of september 11st isn't enough to stop rush's hatred. i'm not going to tell you what

he's talking about yet. just listen to this. >> this could be the most outrageous moment, yet, of the obama presidency. twisting 9/11 into a nationalist day of service to the state. >> hmm. the most outrageous moment yet? what could president obama have said? well, here's what the drugster was referring to. >> on this first national day of service and remembrance, once more, ordinary goodness of america to serve our communities, to strengthen our country, and to better our world. >> i guess i shouldn't be surprised rush is against serving his community. he actually does his community a disservice every day by just opening his mouth, but, and by the way, the september 11th a l national day of service and

remembrance was established in april as part of the serve america act. house members voted for it. in 2002, president george w. bush created, bush created a national service organization in remembrance of september 11th. rush must have been popping a few too many pills that particular day, turning a hopeful message about the resiliency of americans into a partisan attack. that's un-american "psycho talk. "which is par for the course. coming up, the drugster, okay? joe wilson and the berthers are the heroes of the republican base. basically, folks, the inmates are running the asylum. i'll ask ron christie if he's worried about his party's image next on "the ed show." living with copd, but i try not to let it hold me back... whether i'm at the batting cages... down by the lake or... fishing at the shore.

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meet the new hero of the republican base. joe wilson set a press dent when he called president obama a liar the other day. a historian of the u.s. house of representatives says this has never happened before. a party has objected to a policy democrats as a group objected to president bush's plan to privatize social security during the 2005 state of the union address which i was in attendance and it was kind of funny to watch it go back and forth. for a single voice to shout a personal attack on the president of the united states, accusing him of lying, that is a new low. minority leader john boehner was mortified and begged wilson to publicly apologize on the house floor. wilson, of course, refused. wilson is being met as a conquering hero for the right wing fringe. berthers and t.e.a. partiers flooded his office with support. liar has become the fringe's new bat signal to the new bat call if you want what i mean.

wilson wasted no time trying to capital ice on youtube. >> i will not be muzzled. i will speak up and speak against this risky plan. the government takeover of health care and the liberals what want to take health care to illegals are using my opposition as an excuse about the questions raised about this poorly conceived plan. >> the mainstream fans aren't loving it. a new poll shows wilson is in a dead heat with his democratic challenger, a district john mccain won by nine points in november. rob miller and dnc has raised $1.35 million since the incident. good for him. joining me now, republican strategist, ron christie. good to have you on tonight. an apology? normally when people make an apology they kind of let things drift away because they're ashamed of what they did and trying to get redemption for what they did.

this guy is profiteering on. are you okay with the aftermath of the apology? >> i have a mixed bag on this. the behavior he displayed on the house floor is inappropriate. there's a certain level on decorum a member of congress should display toward the president of the united states whether you agree or disagree with him. his outburst was unwarranted, uncalled for and i thought it was a good thing he apologized to rahm emanuel and conveyed that apology to the president. there are many on the left and in the media making far too much of this. the man apologized. the president accepted his apology. we should move on. rentive wilson underscored his concern the fact illegal aliens under the current version in the house there is not a strong enforcement mechanism to ensure illegal aliens won't receive coverage under the bill. >> actually, it was ronald reagan who signed the bill back in the 1980s that made it

available to illegal aliens, so ron is kind of a strawman argument there what you're talking about. the fact is the president made very clear the other night in his speech that illegal aliens are not going to get dollars to be taken care of. i want to talk about wilson. wilson, is he creating an image problem for the republicans? first he apologizes then he fund raises on it. he's saying he won't back down. what's the image here? the level of sincerity, the bar is pretty low right now, wouldn't you say? >> i don't think so. if we're going to go tit for tat for members i'd look at representative mcdermott and bonior and the other gentleman who went over to baghdad to denounce the united states. look at charlie rangel. >> we're talking about a personal insult here, calling the president a liar then apologizing then continuing on saying he's not going to back down. >> okay. if you want to go down that road, ed, i'd say, fine.

look at senate majority leader harry reid. harry reid went on "meet the press" when mr. russert was still with us and accused president bush of not only being a liar but a loser. he said that on national television. he had the opportunity a year later to apologize and said i shouldn't have called him a loser but i stand by calling him a liar. >> you're right about that, ron. he was saying bush was lying about the facts. now, if mr. wilson is saying -- >> well -- >> no, that's the fact. >> i have a very strong contention, ed, with the fact, as i said to you, the congressman from north dakota had an amendment in the ways and means committee that would have ensured the holds in medicare and medicaid would be made absolutely certain we wouldn't have illegal aliens receiving benefits under the bill. >> the consensus claimed the house bill would use the house bill to provide insurance to illegal immigrants, that is

false. factcheck.org, false. >> i read factcheck.org. >> the associated press said he's wrong. you know they're not going to get it, ron. the president flat-out said it's not going to happen. you're saying the president doesn't have any credibility. >> i'm saying the president absolutely has zero credibility, ed. you know i love you, buddy, but i tell you i read factcheck.org and encourage your viewers to do the same. congressman heller had his amendment defeated on -- >> it is not in the bill, ron. >> that's exactly right. it's not in the bill. >> it's not in the bill -- the republicans right now are making the argument -- it's kind of like the prevent defense. how i started the show tonight. you want to prevent? okay. if it's not in the bill, you want to put something in there to prevent it? put it in there. put the language in there. the fact is the money is not going to be going to illegal

aliens for health care. >> if the democrats are right and they're so certain the money won't go to illegal aliens, what's wrong for putting a safe guard and trigger mechanism there to ensure that won't happen? >> if you did, you would be involving the process. ron, good to have you with us tonight. i appreciate your discussion. our panel. stephanie miller is with us tonight. jeff santos, radio host on wwzn. streaming on revolutionboston.com. michael, talk show host and author of the book "the ten big lies about america." well, not to take a shot at your title there, michael, but we could add a few more to that. why did you stop at ten? all right. jeff santos, i want your response to what ron christie is saying tonight about this. >> this is ridiculous. the fact is that wilson and majority of the republicans are anti-latino, they've been losing the latino vote. they're going to continue to do it with this kind of

anti-immigrant perspective. they're anti-human. every european country takes care of immigrants, regard less. they don't have to say, i'm a german, i'm a british person. they take care of them. we're the only country in the western world that does not have a health care system. embarrassing. republicans are behind the times once again. >> michael, illegal immigrants are covered under the emergency medical treatment signed by president reagan in 1986. sort it out for us. what's your argument? >> look, the question is not whether illegals are going to get emergency treatment. they do. that is the humanitarian matter. it's very expensive, by the way. that's why i think it's important to separate as much as we possibly can the problem of illegal immigration from the problem of health care. the point ron christie was making was exactly right. if you really do want to make sure the president is telling the truth and that no illegals

are going to get health insurance paid for by the government, then put in an enforcement mechanism. why would you object to that? >> i'm not objecting to anything. i'm taking the president's word and reading the bill. there's nothing in there that says illegal aliens are going to get coverage with federal dollars going to health care. >> totally true. by the way, joe wilson was way out of line. he's not a hero. it was rude. i was there. republicans cringed. i talked to a member of the republican leadership who said to me after the president's speech that he would like to remove some parts of joe wilson's anatomy. >> stephanie miller, what do you make of the republicans responses the other night? >> please, listen, i wanted to yell liar when ron christie was speaking, but i didn't, ed, out of respect for you and the forum here. leprechauns and unicorns are not

specifically mentioned in the bill not getting health insurance. this is such a ridiculous argument. as you said, every nonpartisan fact-checking organization said what joe wilson said is a complete lie. you are not entitled to your own set of facts. so not only was it completely rude and just unheard of in that body and against, by the way, absolutely could have ended this by giving an apology on the floor of the house. >> quickly -- >> not just to the president. >> michael, do they have an image problem the way they're acting? >> i think it goes too far with president obama -- i thought president obama spoke beautifully today at the pentagon. >> i'm asking you about the republican party and the image they're portraying right now. >> i think it's a problem. this is -- i think it's a problem for our party when we attack the president when he

calls for national service on september 11th. >> gentlemen, stephanie, michael and jeff, thank you. we'll have you back for sure. next up, the rojs right reacts to president obama's speech. bill donahue says bringing up abortion would have been, quote, the manly thing to do. attacking the president's manhood? sounds like something jesus would do? question mark? introducing a breakthrough from tums that can control your heartburn for hours all day or all night. it's called tums dual action, and it's the longest lasting tums ever. tums dual action works two ways to relieve heartburn: like all tums, it goes to work in seconds. plus, tums dual action has an effective acid reducer that works for hours, all day or all night, to keep heartburn from coming back. rely on tums dual action for fast, long-lasting relief of heartburn. brand power. helping you buy better. 're not ceos making millions.

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forward. based on that and among other things, how is the christian community receiving this? bill donahue, president of the catholic league and author of the book. here we go. here we go. the president says it's a moral issue to cover every american. do you agree with that? >> yes. i'll go further than that. the united states count to bishops has been the logical supporter for the longest time on universal health care. they will support this bill. they have not said they're against it. they want to make certain, though, that you've got to close the door on this question of abortion. if we get abortion out of the bill and have health care protection, the catholic community will be on board. >> the president did mention abortion the other night and you challenged him before. he talked about it. he said no money is going to fund abortions. are you comfortable with that.

>> no. "the new york times" had a strong editorial endorsing him then in their fact check disagreed with him on that. ap, had him on the air, they fact checked. "time" magazine. how do you explain mark enzi, orrin hatch, eric cantor and joe pits? every one of them put an amendment out on the floor to get abortion out. why would you have an amendment to get something out if it isn't in there? by the way, they lost. >> is the president lying to the american people the other night? when he said there's not going to be money to fund abortions. that's what he says. >> if it's interpreted in hr 3200 there's no provision for abortion, he's wrong. if the one he puts his imprint on, i'll give him the benefit of the doubt. i put out a statement today, all right, let's keep an open mind about this. >> the amendment provides for abortion in case of rape insist

of life for the mother. >> we're not talking about that. >> some federal money is already there. the president says there's not going to be new federal money going to it. >> he has to disagree with the people who vetoed the actual amendment by his party. i mean, he can't have it both ways. it's either in there or not. this man has a track record of being a very strong supporter of abortion through term. >> choice. >> we'll see. >> he's a supporter of choice. >> we're not talking about choosing between strawberries, we're talking about killing a kid. >> we're talking about a woman choosing what to do with her body and the government not telling her what to do. >> we're not talking about warts. we're talking about children. >> it's reproductive rights. >> this is orwellian. >> this is not orwellian. you had the white house, the house and senate. you didn't turn it over. didn't make an attempt to turn it over. it's a wedge issue. now it's obama's problem? >> i'm not a republican.

let's get that straight. i am saying is this, obama should say i agree with the people out there who want the amendments out there to get abortions out of. i'm not going to sign anything like that. >> you are supporting the president on pre-existing conditions and not denying coverage. if you've got coverage insurance companies can't cut you. >> right. the think the language about death panels -- >> you're with them -- >> say that? >> it's all hyperbole. just get the abortion out and you'll get the catholics in. >> are you a patriots' fan? >> i'm a giants fan and steelers fan. >> played well last night. mr. donahue, my pleasure. come back and let's do it again. up next, club ed with liz win sten. she keeps talking about seeshl socialized medicine. i'm going to try to get her back from the dark side. [ sighs ] [ clears throat ]

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welcome back to "the ed show." it's friday and that means it's time for "club ed" with liz winsten co-creator of "the daily show. "liz joining us from the great state of minnesota tonight where the president's going to be tomorrow holding a rally. i'll be anchoring tomorrow between 1:00 and 3:00 on msnbc. liz has been talking to us constantly about the, you know, counseling her mother, trying to

get her to the good side. i'm curious, liz, i know you had conversations with her. did the speech the other night have any impact on mom? >> ed, it had zero impact on her. i was, like, i have been listening to her rhetoric over and over and over. just to give you an idea of who my mom is, she's 88 years old. she's half deaf and watches fox news which means she gets half of half of the truth. she has her five children trying to explain to her when she watches fox she doesn't get the truth. we can't get it out of her. i videotaped her last night to show you what i'm talking about. here's my mother's take on medicare and socialized medicine. >> what is it that you think is the scariest part of health care reform? >> well, socialized medicine. i have enjoyed medicare. i know there's a lot of waste in

it. socialized medicine does scare me. the government taking over that worries me. social security has been screwed up and so has medicare and the post office and so many things run by the government that it scares me. >> you know, liz, she's got all the bullet points down. i mean, everything's just so terrible. come on, now. >> i know. she's been spoon fed. here's the deal. her five rational children can't convince her. my nephew's getting married tomorrow. a half a block away from where president obama is speaking. i am imploring president obama to come to the wedding and talk to my mom one-on-one. it's a half a block away. please come. the only death panel that's going to happen is going to be her five children getting her to shut up about the death panel. he needs to come and talk to her. i'm freaking out.